Yakima, WA vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Yakima to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($355,256 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Yakima vs St. Louis at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Yakima, WA, you'd need about $97,008 in St. Louis, MO (−$2,992).
Livability — Yakima, WA: 63 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,533 sqft in Yakima vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($197 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Yakima, WA | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,452 | $17,412 | +$960 |
| Groceries | $5,246 | $4,934 | −$311 |
| Transportation | $4,075 | $3,390 | −$685 |
| Utilities | $1,548 | $1,512 | −$36 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,400 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $5,427 | $10,488 | +$5,061 |
| Total | $34,248 | $40,136 | +$5,889 |
Side by side
| Metric | Yakima, WA | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.9 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 7.24% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.2% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 37 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.57 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $355,256 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.5× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.9% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $197 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,371 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.7% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.38% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.00% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $700 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.55 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 375 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 76 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 37 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |